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KAZAKHSTAN: 284 administrative prosecutions in 2017 - list

By Felix Corley, Forum 18

Full list of 284 known administrative prosecutions in 2017 to punish exercising freedom of religion or belief. Of these, 263 ended up with punishments, including fines, a short-term jail term, deportations, worship bans, seizures and destruction of religious literature.

At least 284 administrative prosecutions are known to have been brought in 2017 to punish individuals, religious communities, charities and companies for their exercise of freedom of religion or belief. Of these, 263 ended up with punishments.

Punishments included fines, a short-term jail term, temporary or permanent bans on activity (including bans on meeting for worship), deportations, and seizures and destruction of religious literature, according to a review of the known 2017 cases compiled by Forum 18 (see full list below).

Muslims, Protestants (especially Council of Churches Baptists), Jehovah's Witnesses and commercial sellers were many of the targets of these prosecutions (for a full analysis of the cases, see F18News 30 January 2018 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2347).

Fines were mostly the equivalent of between three weeks' and six months' average wages for those in formal work (35 to 300 Monthly Financial Indicators, MFIs, 79,415 Tenge to 680,700 Tenge in 2017).

In nine cases, courts ordered seized religious literature to be destroyed. For the first time known to Forum 18, this included in 2017 a copy of the Koran.

Four foreign citizens were initially ordered deported. Cases against two of these were overturned on appeal.

Administrative prosecutions are known to have been brought in 2017 to punish:

- 88 individuals, charities and companies for meeting for worship, hosting such meetings or maintaining places for such meetings.

- 39 individuals and charities for offering religious literature to others for free.

- 58 individuals and companies for offering religious literature, icons or other items for sale.

- 4 individuals for trying to import religious literature.

- 1 individual for bringing religious literature from one Kazakh city to another.

- 1 community leader for storing religious literature which the authorities consider "extremist".

- 10 individuals for offering religious items for sale online.

- 12 individuals for posting religious materials online.

- 31 individuals for sharing faith with others.

- 22 Muslims for praying in mosques in ways that the state-controlled Muslim Board has banned, for example by using the word Amen (2017 is the first year such punishments have been imposed).

- 2 individuals for teaching their faith.

- 9 religious leaders for allowing children to be present or conducting religious rites against the wishes of one parent.

- 5 religious communities for "inadequate" security or security measures for their places of worship, for example not having enough video cameras.

- 2 individuals for failing to pay earlier fines to punish them for exercising the right to freedom of religion or belief.

More than 200 of these cases were heard in court, but more than 50 fines were summarily handed down by police.

Of the 268 administrative cases known to have been brought against individuals in 2017, 186 were against men and 82 against women. Women represented more than two-thirds of individuals prosecuted to punish offering religious literature and other items for sale in shops, and more than 90 per cent of those offering such material online. Women represented almost half the individuals prosecuted for sharing their faith with others.

Of the 284 known administrative prosecutions in 2017, 18 began as cases under Criminal Code Article 174 ("Incitement of social, national, clan, racial, or religious discord, insult to the national honour and dignity or religious feelings of citizens, as well as propaganda of exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of citizens on grounds of their religion, class, national, generic or racial identity, committed publicly or with the use of mass media or information and communication networks, as well as by production or distribution of literature or other information media, promoting social, national, clan, racial, or religious discord"). The administrative cases were launched when prosecutors decided not to pursue the criminal cases.

Full list of known 2017 administrative prosecutions

The list of known 2017 administrative prosecutions below is based on court decisions and other information reaching Forum 18. It includes the date of initial decision by lower court/police, name of defendant, affiliation, court/police issuing decision, Administrative Code Article, reason for prosecution, outcome:

Article 489, Part 9 punishes "Leadership of an unregistered, halted, or banned religious community or social organisation" with a fine of 100 MFIs.

Article 489, Part 10 punishes "Participation in an unregistered, halted, or banned religious community or social organisation" with a fine of 50 MFIs.

Article 490, Part 1, Point 1 punishes "violation of procedures established in law for conducting rites, ceremonies and meetings". Punishment for individuals is a fine of 50 MFIs, and for organisations a fine of 200 MFIs plus a three-month ban on activity.

Article 490, Part 8 punishes repeat violations of the Religion Law within one year, with fines on individuals of 200 MFIs.

Article 490, Part 1, Point 3 punishes: "Violating the requirements of the Religion Law for .. import, manufacturing, production, publication and/or distribution of religious literature and other religious materials, and items for religious use". The punishment for individuals is a fine of 50 MFIs.

Article 490, Part 1, Point 3 punishes: "Violating the requirements of the Religion Law for .. import, manufacturing, production, publication and/or distribution of religious literature and other religious materials, and items for religious use". The punishment for individuals is a fine of 50 MFIs.

Article 490, Part 1, Point 3 punishes: "Violating the requirements of the Religion Law for .. import, manufacturing, production, publication and/or distribution of religious literature and other religious materials, and items for religious use". The punishment for individuals is a fine of 50 MFIs.

Article 490, Part 1, Point 3 punishes: "Violating the requirements of the Religion Law for .. import, manufacturing, production, publication and/or distribution of religious literature and other religious materials, and items for religious use". The punishment for individuals is a fine of 50 MFIs.

Article 490, Part 1, Point 3 punishes: "Violating the requirements of the Religion Law for .. import, manufacturing, production, publication and/or distribution of religious literature and other religious materials, and items for religious use". The punishment for individuals is a fine of 50 MFIs.

Article 490, Part 3 punishes: "Carrying out missionary activity without state registration (or re-registration), as well as the use by missionaries of religious literature, information materials with religious content or religious items without a positive assessment from a religious studies expert analysis, and spreading the teachings of a religious group which is not registered in Kazakhstan". The punishment is a fine of 100 MFIs, with deportation if the individual is a foreign citizen.

Article 490, Part 3 punishes: "Carrying out missionary activity without state registration (or re-registration), as well as the use by missionaries of religious literature, information materials with religious content or religious items without a positive assessment from a religious studies expert analysis, and spreading the teachings of a religious group which is not registered in Kazakhstan". The punishment is a fine of 100 MFIs, with deportation if the individual is a foreign citizen.

Article 490, Part 2 punishes: "Impeding lawful religious activity as well as violation of the civil rights of physical persons on grounds of their religious views or insulting their feelings or profanation of items, buildings and places revered by followers of any religion, unless there are signs of criminally punishable actions". The punishment for individuals is 50 Monthly Financial Indicators (MFIs), and for legal entities 200 MFIs.

Article 490, Part 3 punishes: "Carrying out missionary activity without state registration (or re-registration), as well as the use by missionaries of religious literature, information materials with religious content or religious items without a positive assessment from a religious studies expert analysis, and spreading the teachings of a religious group which is not registered in Kazakhstan". The punishment is a fine of 100 MFIs, with deportation if the individual is a foreign citizen.

Article 490, Part 7 punishes leaders of registered religious organisations who fail to abide by the 2011 Religion Law's requirement "to take measures not to allow the involvement and/or participation of under age children in the activity of the religious association when one of the parents or their other legal representatives objects". Punishment is a fine of 50 MFIs plus deportation from the country.

Administrative Code Article 149 punishes: "Non-fulfilment and (or) inadequate fulfilment of duties on providing antiterrorist protection and observing the proper level of security of an object vulnerable to terrorism". Punishments for first "offences" under Part 1 are a fine for non-commercial organisations (including religious organisations) of 200 MFIs. Punishments for second "offences" under Part 2 for such organisations are a fine of 300 MFIs with a possible ban of up to three months.